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Friday, August 30, 2013

Before I get to the winner, I wanted to let you know that Megan is offering a 20% off discount code for anything in her shop to *anyone* who entered her giveaway! Simply enter Take20off in the area where it says “Apply Shop Coupon Code” at checkout (right under the Visa and Paypal logos). This code is good TODAY ONLY – August 30th, 2013.

Remember how I told you about how I love to shop ahead for Christmas and how it reduces so much stress? Well, this is a perfect opportunity to do that! Buy ahead today for your sister, your daughter, your mom, your children’s teacher, your best friend, your mother-in-law…you get the point! :) You’ll be getting a beautiful gift at a great deal and supporting a stay-at-home mom’s small business. What’s not to love here, people?! :) I know I’m buying one today for my mother-in-law!

Anyway, the winner that Rafflecopter chose (you can see the name at the bottom of the original giveaway post) was:

Stephanie A. {sjangle3…}

Stephanie, I have NO idea who you are but congratulations!!! I am seriously so happy for you and I know you will love your beautiful new scarf! I’m sending Megan your contact info so she can get in touch with you!

Monday, August 26, 2013

Hey everybody! I am back from a long(ish) absence with an awesome giveaway for you. Megan is one of my sister’s best friends, and even though we live in different states and we’ve never actually met, I feel like I know her from my sister’s stories (lol!). She is a mom of two precious children – a toddler and a newborn - who somehow also manages to find the time to run her own home business (amazing).

Megan owns Evelyn’s Shoppe, an adorable Etsy shop that features her beautiful handmade scarves. She sent me one and it.is.gorgeous. It’s super soft – not itchy or with random weird threads like some scarves in my closet! The fabric is fantastic and something you actually want to have wrapped around your neck all day.

Here’s what the fabric looks like flat….and wrapped (I was not having a good hair day when I took these photos – hence why my candlestick became my model. lol)

I think it’s adorable that she had her own tags made up!

Megan sells “summer” and “winter” scarves in her shop – you can read the item description if you’re not sure how thick the fabric is. I asked her about mine and she was totally upfront with me that the one I picked was more of a summer scarf and more decorative (as opposed to thick and warm to wear under a coat). Fine by me, though - I plan on wearing it all year round!

{Sidenote: Can I tell you one of my tricks to staying sane during the Christmas season? Buying ahead. I didn’t used to do this, and would come to December with a huge list of presents to buy and be totally overwhelmed. Now I start as early as July and start setting things aside as I see them – and as they go on sale. By the time December actually rolls around, I usually only have a few gifts and stocking stuffers left to purchase. It makes me so happy knowing there’s a box full of Christmas gifts sitting under my bed in September! :) }

So…the great thing about today’s giveaway is that I think anyone and everyone can benefit from it! Either you’ll love the scarves and want to buy one for yourself (pretty sure that will happen), or if you’re not a scarf person, you’ll know someone on your list that would love one of these beautiful scarves and you can cross someone off your Christmas list IN AUGUST. Think of how good THAT will feel! Can I get an amen?!

Don’t tell my mother-in-law, but she’s totally getting either the cream or the peacock scarf for Christmas! :)

P.S. For those of you that know my sister, yes, she is a model for some of the photos! :)

Megan’s also running a promotion through the end of August where you can get 10% off using the code BACK2SCHOOL10 in the checkout code. So if you don’t end up being the lucky winner, you can still get a discount on one of these lovely accessories. You can also follow Evelyn’s Shoppe on Facebook to see when new scarves are listed online.

So…onto the giveaway! I’m using Rafflecopter again…I love how automated and easy it is.

Enter this giveaway to win a a free scarf of your choice from Evelyn’s Shoppe (good toward any scarf priced $18 or under, with free shipping!)

Good luck! Giveaway ends this Thursday, August 29th, and I’ll announce the winner on August 28th!

Friday, August 2, 2013

Oooooh it doesn’t matter how old you are – Fridays are just universally awesome, aren’t they?! I decided to join in on this fun party I keep seeing other girls participating in…so let’s jump right in!

{1} A few weeks ago Money Saving Mompublished a submission of mine (cue jumping up and down on the phone as I called my husband) and I was “paid” with an Amazon gift card. I used some of my money to buy this (sorry about the glare!!)…

I am totally in love with my new cookbook!! I discovered Christy Jordan (she blogs at Southern Plate) a few months ago and I just LOVE her! She is SO cute and down to earth. Her “Dirty Rice” recipe is one of our new household staples. So far, from her book, I’ve made her meatloaf and her macaroni and cheese. DELISH! (Her meatloaf tastes just like Cracker Barrel’s!) I also tried her Chocolate Cobbler recipe but couldn’t get it to set up right so I’ll have to try it again in the future. Her recipes are simple, with normal, easy-to-find ingredients. I love that. PLUS, every one comes with a story behind it. I really enjoyed reading through it! It’s like a cookbook and family memoir in one.

{2} A friend introduced me to the show Call the Midwife on PBS. You guys! It’s so good! It’s based on the memoirs of a nurse/midwife from the 1950’s in London. It’s fascinating and I’ve laughed and cried at the episodes! It’s a great show on it’s own, but it’s also a good filler for those of us in Downton Abbey withdrawal. ;) I watched Season 1 on Netflix and they have Season 2 on PBS for free right now!

{3} Ummmmm….THIS GIRL.

Seriously? Baby espadrilles?! I die. She is 6 months old and the happiest baby we have ever met. And no, we really aren’t biased – a million people have told us they’ve never met a happier or more smiley baby. I know people always make comments about a little girl having her daddy wrapped around her little finger, but she has melted my heart just as much as his. I just seriously adore her.

{4} This week I went to a Tailgate Swap Party with some friends! My friend Mary blogged about it here (and if you think it’s a good idea, pin the photo from her site! Pinterest has WAY too many of the same pins circulating around, if you ask me! lol). Basically, we all loaded up our cars with stuff we didn’t want, met at a playground parking lot, and “shopped” each others’ cars – for free!! It was SO. MUCH. FUN. I got rid of a ton of stuff and came home with some treasures…

Seriously, what a blast. Any one of these items would have made me happy, but all of them for free? It was a good day. :)

{5} Monday is our 7-year anniversary, and Saturday night we’re going out on a date!!! I think it’s our first one since May? Or April?! Regardless, it’s been a LONG time and I am sooooo ridiculously excited! We’re going to a local restaurant and hopefully eating outside (my fave) if the weather holds up! Whoo hoo!

P.S. I just signed up to be an Amazon Affiliate, since they finally allow Connecticut residents to participate! Yay! This post contains referral links, and if you click on the link to purchase, I earn a very small percentage! I will always and forever only recommend things I love (otherwise how embarrassing would that be?!) Just wanted to let you know!

I am so glad that you are here! I'm a young wife and mom just writing about life. I have a whole lot of interests, and I write a little bit about each of them. My blog title serves to remind me that everything I have is a result of God and Him alone. Be sure to let me know you stopped by - have a wonderful day!